One Week In Istanbul
Here are some overall thoughts:
It looks European - the cobblestone streets, the ancient buildings/mosques, narrow winding streets, and small cafes/bars/restaurants with tiny tables outside People here are super friendly. On my first day, the taxi dropped me off on a street, but I couldn’t find my Airbnb, so three guys just on the street helped me call and took me there.
English speakers are hit or miss. Most people can speak it but to varying degrees. However, unlike China, they’re willing to work through the language barrier to figure things out, which is a nice change compared to “Sorry, there’s no way to solve this,” which was a typical response in China.
Istanbul can be cheap. A full kebab with fries is $2, but there are also really nice restaurants that can be pricey. I’d say from my experience so far; it’s on par with China prices. Taxis start at around $.80 and go up from there.
Istanbul is a lot more “hilly” than I had expected. It’s similar to San Francisco if that serves as a reference for anyone.
Knowing Spanish is helpful for Turkish. Because Spanish had such an influence from other languages in this region, many words in Turkish are similar to the words in Spanish. Additionally, it’s nice being able to phonetically read a word even if I don’t understand it - I am OVER character-based languages. My favorite word so far in Turkish is “oto,” which is “auto,” but they just simplified it here. So you see “otopark” and “oto shop” all over the place -- +1 for Turkish keeping things simple.
It’s gorgeous here. Maybe it’s the time of year, but the weather is great, the streets are clean, the buildings are colorful, and there is a nice mix of ancient and modern architecture. I could easily see myself living in Istanbul for a year. There is history, a strong culture, friendly attitudes, people take time to enjoy the day, and like hanging out drinking tea and having a cigarette in the middle of the afternoon. Besides taxis, no one seems to be in a rush. Plus, the food so far has been incredible. I’m a big fan of meat, cheese, and bread, and Turkey has all three of those covered.
People have called Istanbul the New York of the Middle East, and it’s easy to understand why. There are so many small shops, restaurants, bars, live music venues, and small corner stores throughout the city that I could spend a year here and still not fully “know” the city. But to me, that’s the exciting part. I like a challenge, and I think if there is a job opportunity in Istanbul, I’m going to take it. Having lived in China for 7+ years, there are many things I like about Asia. I also really like Europe, but it’s a bit too expensive and “rigid.” Turkey, right in the middle of both continents, seems like the perfect mix of what I’m looking for as I figure out the next chapter of my life. I came here because it was the only country besides Maldives I could travel to after China, but I think I’ve found a place where I could spend the next few years of my life. As usual, we’ll see what happens.
